Railway traffic controlling apparatus



Oct. 5, 1943. H. A. WALLACE RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARATUS FiledSept. 17, 1941 9 0 h a. Rd Y E A 1 WMQW 0 Q M/ ki fi I u w m 0 a U HWUQW. W M H b fimwl l w A QM raw ma w m 3.2 8% Eu 3% @sm NEW 8 ling'}appratusj, andit has partiohlarffreferenoe to the; organization of such'ajpparatus into l ajil s retch b r i r c o e? ria tidulrly m inventionrelates to signal Systems foistretches of r ailwa snccess ivejadJ'Oiningtrackiections and-arrange f indications'dueltoa failure or t j ihtsf epatgf 1o"- ti nl Joint 'pmecfiq d p m bn njtr 111g 'etion fromthenextladjacenfisection;'

, I railjs adjdoent the opposite or entrance e d oi; runcmonsafi bran inr1 en dbwngg1amfi the section, and the track relay As uti lizedjto' eonjoint protection, f trol-the operationpf an assooig'ted wayside signalOf-theljOints ;sepaldting" suchesetgtionfrQm the t comm t1withtiafiiceoonditionslin advance;

ai k d i by 111 mm iointsn li o and rganiz d" to providefp'lotectionaigainstfialse signal" sytems,by"meansfgesponsive only to "oylr nt. .QHQYi Y harat i fi ldi t lt ly(d n? A ehtfromgjt I hai'aloteristics'oijthefourrentfldpq ilin hcit abckir la V t 1 m i t t n 15 alon'thesft An th A other, object 1 15mg. provide inoyel" an and.thefSUDblY. of trackway energy to" t efrailai'g proved signal s ystemswherein;Signa1s;.gove1'ni ofthe next adjac nt section the jreer. such ti afiicilon astr etch are Selectively conditionedjo I s'y'stems'ftlhenergyuppliedftqtheQexit end of a; Q govern; traflic by trapk circuits]incorporating v section might leak .mrwaiuly over the insmatmtrackre1ays responsive only, too thechai'ateijis'tios joints "in thetevent of a fajl uree'o'fthetinsuldtion of cui fijentgsuppliedto asectionan d ooded -i ntap seetion; 111' j advance; an fth'ik fopw ardlyleahing} such s1gna1s are,.1fende 1fe.d 1 effective" t d go' tie current'might fztls e zly;energize -the',re1ay of the. trafiio'. by;vapproach?Contr s" V Yln I advance sectionwto'caufsetthe signalioisu'ohzseo-['t1 aokcircuitfinclliqing aytl ackrelay 1esponls1ve U soh'erfn'eshavelbeen proposedlhferet ofore totproteot L f the :si'gnm. H

I Y ize railwayttraffio ontrollingabparatusin'toreil Dlying ithe adjajcntftrack sectionsof apstrett} the failure of insulatedfljoints; p111;ene'rally such systems; incorporating-novel and impriovedgap systemsfineoes sitatethjuse orpspeeial relays for-1; E proachoontrol means. I v o.v detecting cilrr'entleaking pest the insulated 3o1nt5 v r-lnaccordancewith -mygpl egnt in ve1 1tio n,{the and 101 altering 'thelchara'cten of 'the cqrren't 1 above-mentioned and' otherjmportantigbjects supplied to the fear seotion when such le'a'kge is;and char acte l istic I :ieature 70f my;- V ntiO detected; t l o .j Iwhichwill become neadilyepp arent fromthe,fol

An object jofjfmy present invention is to, organ-,1: 40f lowingodscription, are attained vbyklt times sup vja yl si gnals'yetemsincoi'porating nov el and -with distinctivelycharacterized cnrrentszginq;proyed}1nean1s for" broteoting against fallee s'igna l" I vD'royigiingteaoh z seotion with trackway e111'1 e11t ie indicationsingthe 'eynt of aQfailure of;

insulated sections.,,,

Whereintheabove mentioned protection again t leakage; of currentjrom onejse false signal indications "due-to failmfespf in .joint into theadjacent tsectio pense smd involving no special deteotlng ni'eilnysresponsivemeans ofi the adjacent;section duelto g to detecttajleakageoft onnyent' oyer th 1 wheireinbrol ien down' insulationjointlprotection 55 .'-t ion's""of the stretch may-be normally suppliedh I I I to 7 I a to the associateq section; whereby-,1 failurefl o 1Another object to provide signal-systems the joints separatingtwoadjacent; ections an I o v V ebfi r f sa sulated joints is attainedswith:aminimumK of Jex-= cannot cause operation of the tfackway; current in111etd thegdifiepence in characteristics 1 between, 116:

jo n s-. Y ,7 1, e current and the current; to which=suoh=-cun en I,

Another object is to. provide ts lgnahsystems ,responsive means respondsfll-he adjecentsem; 1

each with current having similar characteristics and the characteristicsof the current supplied to a section may be altered upon the approach ofa train. The means employed to effect approach control of thecharacteristics of the track circuit current supplied may be utilizedalso to render effective thesignals governing trafiic on the stretch. a7

My invention also resides in the organization and arrangement of railwaytraflic controlling apparatus into signaling systems wherein theabove-mentioned objects or various combinations of such objects areattained. I shall describe one specific arrangement or form of apparatusembodying my invention, and sh'all then point out the novel featuresthereof in claims,

The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic view illustrating one formofapparatus embod ing my invention.

Referring to the drawing, the reference character X'designa tes astretchpf railway track ove i h ch t af i normally operates in the cstound direction as indicated by an associated arrow or from left toright as viewed in the,

drawin Inestretcnx is divided by the usual nsulated joints ,2 intoalplurality of successive position l ght, etc-,but for he puri oscjs' ofth present description the signals are assumcd'to, be sem phore sign lseach haying the sua 'lsi r rial mechanism nd als listings si nal lamp"SL' which normally is dark but which "becomes ppr ach nergi ed a man rtobe e pla ned presently-c Each; s gna S, a ls wn, a o ols an a soc a edircu t co troller comp i n a movable contact member Boperated by theassociatedjfsignal mechanism into engagement with a contact l to form acircuit controlling contact L -5 whenever "the associated mechanismconditions the signal to display either its clear or/its caution aspect,and which'contact member t is operated by the signal mechanism 7 out ofengagement with contact 1 and intoengagement with another contact 8 toform a contact 5-8 when the associated signal is conditionedtodisplayits stop aspect; The functions of the contacts of thesignal-circuit controllers will he made clear presently. 'f

Each section of track'X is provided with a track circuit comprisingmeans for supplying track circuit ener y; preferably of train control(100 cycle) frequency, to the rails at the exit endof the section anda'track relam'designated by the reference c'haracter'IR with a suitablydistinguishingsuflix, arranged to respond to current received from therails at the entrance end of the section. The current supplying means ofsection DE,' for example, comprises a track transformer 'ITE, a codingdevice or transmitter GTE, and a-suitable source of 100 cyclealternating-current, such as a generator not shown but having itsopposite terminals designated by the reference characters BX and OK.

The coder'CTE may be of any suitable type and as showncomprises aconstantly energized winding'o'perating a plurality of coding contactmembers each at a different code rate. As shown,

coder CTE is provided with a contact member I5 operated alternately toopen and close a circuit controlling contact at a rate of 75 times perminute, another two contact members I80 each 5 operated to open andclose'a circuit controlling contact at a rate of 180 times per minute,another contact member l5 operated to open and close a'circuit,controlling contact at the rate of 15 times per minute, andacontactmember 28 operated alternately to open and close a circuit controllingcontact at a rate of 20 times per minute. It is readily apparent thateach contact member I80, I5, I5 and 20 of coder CTE when interposed in acircuit supplied with energy, is effective-to interrupt or code suchenergy at the rate of 180, 75, and times per minute, re-

spectively. I shall hereinafter refer to the cod- -ing effected bycontacts I80, 15, I5 and 20 of the code transmitter, as 180, 75, 15 and20 code rates, respectively.

Transformer T'IE has its secondary windin I [constantly connected withthe track railsat-eX and}? of section D- E and has its primarv windingiisupplied with 100 cycle altera v ti e current no mally coded at one oranother f a plurality ofcode ratesof a given order or lass and coded atother times at one priannther f a plura ity of code rates, of .adistinctively fiifr ferent class. The code rates comprising the,

normal order of coding the current are selected so sctoiibe'ineffectiveto control the usual train.- arrieiifapparetus carried ontrainstraversing he stretch, and the distinctively difierent order fcodin the curr nt comprises ythejus'ual rates.

of coding r fl ctive to c ntrol the usual traincarried' apparatus sothat when the current is oded at such usual rate, it is eficctive tocause operation .oiftiahi-canicd apparatus and hence o stab sh cont lover the cab ignal f a ain so: inaccordance withthc code: rate at whichthe urrent issupp icd-j I l Specifically. thel ac ci cu cu nt upplys meao s ti n '.D- s ar an ed. so that which app oach re ay he inafterreferred orisd cked up c osoits f n n act 31, a se'cons r w ndlne 3 oftrans o e T i connected toith'e source of alternating current throughcontact!!! or I5 of coder C'IfE accords as o t c s.1 c ises or the cir tom 5P troller associated with signal SE is closed. "When, however,relay, ARE isreleased and closes its back contact, 32, then winding II!of transformer 'I'I'E is connected with the source of alternatingcurrent throughf'contact I80 c1215 of 5:5 coderCIE according as contact6-1 or 6-8 of the'circuit controller of signal SE is closed, It

follows, therefore, thatthe current supplied to 'sectionjDE is codedatone or another of a plurality of relatively low code rates when relayARE is picked up; iscoded at one or another ofa plurality of 'highercoderateswhen relay ARE is released; and-that the particularcode rate' of;each class is 'seleFted in'accordance with the position of "the signal,SE associated. with '65 the section" in advance; As shown, the circuitconnection of the source to primary winding I3 of transformer T'IE maybe tunedpas by a, condenser 26; to resonanceat a frequency correspendingto the frequency of current from the sourcein'dicated by the terminalsBX and CK,

RelayTRD is energized by current received from' the rails at theentrance end D of section D-E through the medium of a filter or tuningunit'I'U-AOO. The details of construction of unit TU'I 0U are n'ot shownin the drawingbut mime; 1 I t (735 'l at'cycle ilinterval; '-t';closei;j its? back. acontact a prior 'tojirelay picking up; due mane onrendered" selectively responsive? to :Qandwi's efiectivelyvenergizedonlyi by :cu'rrent having T "a I frequencyjcor'respondingto the'irequency of current supplied L from terminals BX and'CX. l

, The t ltrack circuit apparatusof sectionvD -E I further comprisesdecodingapparatus selectivel-y responsive to] the relatively' low'rate's or coding hereinbeforev rnentioned.*-*=-":'Such apparatus niay;

' for example; ooniprise aslowplckeup relay sPUf V Y a plura-lityof slowreleasing coderegistering' reouired for a, complete cycle; of 2 The slowrelease interval" or rem eraiblydf the order'of*one' 1secon'd; whilerem'y IQCS energized oi/er; fl'ollf Contact 3 9 01' relay 50S islikewise provided with pne scondre I leaseinteri all i v L 1 "When"relay'I RD responds to-20fcode curifentQ its front "contact 35 isclosedfduringitheluon -intervalofthe "code and i bpen dunng the "01:" 60f inter'val of thecode, and this'operation of relay p TRDcontinues aslo'nghs- 20 me 'curreritactu- I ates the relay} 'When "front cont ct35o'fre1ay 'IRITcloses, relay ZOCSL'bekSomeS energized and picksu'p topickup infltur'nrelay ISCS," which relay initurn'ipicks up jrelay 130s.Relay IOCS also completesthe circuit of relay "SPUi which' picksat'the"rid O'f'its 510W interval to deenergiz'e relay apes;muayzseunmams"up until front contactSS 'of relayTRDopen's and then'r'elay SPU dropsto clositskbaclgcontact 361 As 1 pointedout heretoforc. the: slow' 'I'a'ng lays 5 'CR' one for each *r'elatively low code' 'rate, 1 I and A aplurality" of slow releasing code selecting i relays CS. The-i slow-releasing code' registerine rela'ysCR' are controlledbyslow ipick upreiay SPU anditheslow releasing code-"selecting relays CS, and the slowacting characteristics -of theselatter "relays are "selected withrespect T156 f'r,e quency of the 20 and"-ico'des that which relay-TRDre'spondsto code*ic'zur-i I rent, relay 200R is energized, andwhen're1ay" TRD responds to 15*cod'e ci1rrent; relay [50R is) energized.*Thatis to say, current coded at1the- 20 c'od'e rate comprises onintervals I of, energy sepaz at'e'd from eaclif othenby an intervalsduring whichno energy is present; and 'wliich" qnintrval's occur attherateon frtjue'ncy' o'f some 20 times per minute, wh'ile* 15codecurrentcomprises alternate onand "--ofiilntefvals ReIay ZOCS'isprovidd with' anenergizing cit- -,cu it extending from terminalBfftlii'ough' front contact 35 of relay TRDQb'al ck contact 38 ogreiaysP and: the 'winding of]relayjllqs to terminal- (Land when relay 20 CSpicks-up;its"front c proximate ju'st slightly less than the time -re'-'taindthetrelay -ai m ature 'in Fits attracted position 0 code current;v.1565 i is" pref:

' relay' with intervals pr relays zocs' aha sroi takenf to gether;'approximatef'sljilifly nes in a coin plete cycle}interyal cfizo"codecurrent; l

, also picks Zup; fas pointed out" previous1y;.t0 open its backs contact"40 andjtherehy deenergizerela current impulsewheneverirelaylTRDziclosesfits 7 fI onfi fcontact-SS duetd-an'ifonilperiod of the 201', 20

' 150R. becomes-i energized over a circuitt'similar 15011.4 ela -z 150s:i'sasuppl ied withan impulse contact in followingirl'fi code:curre'neena 're' picked'unsigna'l SD is conditioned to 'display its I nauxiliary track ielay "desinated by'the "ref 7t the currenfislipbliedatthe "entrancechd bff tne intervalsof the"next cycles periodziRelaysr'l5CS and LI 3CS; *zhowe'ver," remain energized so that when:relay picks Mpdlie' to the cliff'jinter-' I valii ofithenextcycleperiod';relay 20CRis energizedovera circuit extending:fromterminaliB Q through;- fronti contact :35 of relay TRD, fifront'l Icontact% "42" of relay l 3C5, rfront contact} 4 if of; relay I5CS;backjcontact w of re1ay3'20CS,'-"and p the' winding ofirelayr-zllCRtoisterminal C', and -5 relay.rillcR -iaccordingly: picks" up. Belay-20,05

code, 'andfrelay ZOCR preferably;is' providedwith1 l slow rleasing';characteristics s'uflicient. to" main When relay TRD follows 15 code,bothyrelays cycle period of the "15 code "current; prior to I lay" TRD?clsosing its i-fio'nt' connotes: "when *{en'er g'ize'dgby reachsuccesslve cy cle period of {15 ,code current, and when" front gfcontact' 35' closes$felay to the circuit of relay 20GB; butincludingl'bacic contactf=l3 ofrelay .I 5G8 and the winding of relay ofenergy i wheneverg-relay TRDvcloses 'fitsj front Iay 'I'SCR isproportioned to remain "picked up y;-

code; thereby detecting 'rela TRD following" 15 j coda 7"? j v "15-Relays '20CR" and l5CR' associate'd' withrelay f1 TRD cooperate tofcontrol the associated signal f SD in suchmanner that; when'srelay'ZOCRBis cl'ear aspect; when'krelay 'SlflcRL is released but 19 relay|-'5CR;;i's picked uplvthe si'gnalis conditioned 1 t6" displayits"cautionriaspecty and --when both' is; conditioned to display itsstop aspect; V It followsgtheteforefthatsignal sD'is'selectivelycon- Itrolled by-FreIays ZOCR; andrl 5CR =in= accordanceg with theacodei-rate'of'fopei'ation '01 relay TRD, y,

*My-intention *also inconporates inieans (for obtainin'gwan approachifcontrolv'or operation of a s control function Withoutfusing'linew'ires .by pr0-1 viding eachisection with 'a' revers'ely fedauxiliary; tra'ck circuitutilizingcurrent:havingicharacter-I istics'distinctively diflerent from the character of r the current utilized forcontrollingithejtracki I rla'y TRiotthe associated sectionl?rsuchyauxile' f iary JtraCkPcircuit may-' 'be providedby supplying,to"the rai1s .at, the entrance, *end i of: the section a current havinga frequency idifierent from the 1 frequ'en'c'y 0f thej current 2'supplied: at' the exit end; b'y providing at the-.eirit end 'of the's'ection.

ererice icharacter A'I'R withf a suitably distin 1 gui'shing suflix,arranged to 'be responsive only to' section andby providing an approachcontrol" designated by the referenc"chafracter'AR suitablydistinguishingsumx; arranged-t0 be energizee through an j ias'sociate'd' decoding=transformrr nDgwherithe-a sociated 'aiixiliary track relay operates inresponse to. coded cur-z rent received from therails-oftheassodiatedsecthan." The auxiliary track cir'cuit apparatus-ofsection 13-451, forv examples comprises an; auxiliarytracktransformerATD havingrits secondary. winding connectedtotthezrailsat'entrance and D and having' its primary winding "connectedthrough a contact I80 :ofcoder CTD anda comfrequency, or as shown,tor-a. frequency changer FC comprising :a full-wave .rectifierflfand atransformer 23. The input terminals of rectifier 22 are connected. tothe source'ofalternating current'indicated by the terminals BX'and GK,and the output terminals'of the rectifier are connected to primarywinding 24. inductively coupledwith gsecondary winding of trans-a former23. As is readilyapparent-rectifier 22;

when energized 'by alternating current supplies to winding 24 oftransformer two pulses of unidirectional current in each cycle ofalternate ing current, hence there. isinduced in secondary winding. 25of the transformer by these double frequency pulses .of..unidirectionalcurrentin' winding .24, an electromotive force having a frequency whichis double the frequency of the current supplied to rectifier 22. TheterminalsBX and CK may thus be regarded as a source of distinctivelycharacterized current,- having a 'frequency of, say, 100 cyclesper-second, and sec.-

ondary windingliiof frequency changer FC' may;

be regarded as a source 'ofcurrent. having ayfrequency of 200 cycles persecond and. thus having characteristics distinctively diife'rent' fromthe 100 cycle current; The circuit-connection of the source of 200cycle:c1irrent to thetraok rails is preferably tuned, as by a condenser29,, .to efiective resonance at the frequency of 200 cycles. Itfoliowstherefore, that the rails at entrance end D of section D-.Eare-supplied with 200 cycle current coded at the 180 code rate. At theopposite end E of the-section, :relay ATRE is connected through a filterunit Til- 200, tuned to pass. only current :of 200 cycles, to the railsof section D.-E and hence respondsto the 200 cycle'current toenergizerelayARE through the medium of transformer AD when the associatedsection is unoccupied. Relay ARE not only gov-- erns the selectionbetween therelatively low and relatively high code; rates at whichcurrent. is.

supplied to. the exit endE of the section, -as pointed. outhereinbefore, but also controls'an energizing clrcuitx'for lamp SL ofsignal SE'in such manner that' the lamp is illuminated when relay ARE isreleasedto close its back contact 1 and the lamp is darkiwhen relayAREis picked up. i

with track circuit apparatus substantially corresponding with thehereinbefore described apparatus of section 1 I Therails' of each of thesections of track X normally are supplied with 100 cycle current codedat the 20:01:15 coderate, over an obvious circuit including frontcontact3| of the ap-.

proaohrelay AR of the associated section, but when the approachrela-y ABis released, its back contact 32 closesaand the sssociated'section issupplied with 100 cycle current codedat the r or 180 coderatc, as isreadilyapparent from an inspection of the drawing.--:'-I-he"a.-uxilia;ry track relay A'IR i eachs ctionis controlled by.20

to be efie'ctivertocontrol. thelassociated signal.

When, howevena tralnenters the section, the auxiliary-trackrelayATR ofsuch section is shunted and releases. Back Icont'act 32 of theassociated approach relay AR thereupon closes to shift the coding ofthe'lollcycle' current supplied to such section from-the relatively lowcode rates tothe higherrates of coding, whereupon the train-carriedapparatus'on the train is caused to. respond to such current. After thesection becomesvacated, theapproachrelay AR of the sectionpicksup andthe coding of the track 0i1-' cuitjcurrent is restored to 'its normallow rates of coding. l 4

Itis readilyapparent that in the event of a .breakdownof the insulationof the joints sepa-.

" rating two adjoining sections, the cycle our- The other sections oftrack xwareqprovided rent-might leak irom-therear section into theadvance section to falsely energize the TR track relay of such advancesection, and the 200*cycle current might leak fromthe advance sectioninto coding. ofthe 100 cycle'current supplied to the. rails of suchsection would-.rnot be shifted from the relativcly low code rates to thehigher code rates; The train-carried apparatus on the train acoordinglywould not respond to'such low code rates, and'would not indicate aproceed indication to theengineman of the train. When the train; nearsthe 'exitend of the section, however, and shunts the rearwardlyleakingcurrent away from'the auxiliary trackrelay, relay ATR thenreleases-to shiftthe coding of the 100 cycle current from the relativelyslow code rates to the more rapid, code rates, thereby causing thetrack. relay of the section inadvance to operate at the more rapid coderate. The decoding apparatus associatedwith each track relay is ofcourse non-responsive to trackway current coded at' the relativelyrapidcoderates, hence the associated signal wouldbe controlledto itsstop indication if the associated section is occupied, and theassociatedsignalwould then select the proper rate of coding the 100 cycle currentsupplied to the rearsection to that proper-under the traffic conditions.in advance. It, follows, therefore, that the apparatus functions in theevent of a failure of the insulated joints to provide protecbroken-down:insulated joints.-

. 1 Although Izhave herein shown-and described only one-form of railwaytraffic controlling apparatus embodying my .invention, it is under stoodthat various changes and modifications mavbc ade ther in w thin, t e pof e pat the entrance end of said section, decoding means operated bysaid wayside means and arranged to respond selectively to operation ofsaid wayside means by current coded at one or another of a plurality ofcode rates of a given class but not of another class, means governed bysaid decoding means for selectively controlling said wayside signal,means normally effective for coding the current supplied to the sectionby said trackway current supplying means at one or another of saidplurality of code rates of said given class and responsive to traflic insaid section forshifting the coding of said current to one code rate oranother of said other class.

2. In combination with a section of railway track, a wayside signal atthe entrance end of said section for governing traillc in one directiontherein, trackway, current supplying means for supplying current to thesection at its exit end,

wayside means receiving current, from the rails at the entrance end ofsaid section, decoding means operated by said wayside means and arrangedto respond selectively to operation of said wayside means by currentcoded at one or.

code current supplied to the section by said trackway current supplyingmeans at one rate or another of said given class or said other class,and means for selecting the class of coding effected by said codingmeans, said means being controlled by current transmitted from a sourceat said one end of the section to the other wholly over a track circuitcomprising the rails of saidsection'.

3. In combination with a section of railway track, a wayside signal atthe entrance end of said section for governing traffic in one, directiontherein, trackway current supplying means for, supplying current havingcertain characteristics to the section at its exit end, wayside meansreceiving current from therails at the entrance end of said section andarranged to be responsive only to the characteristics of the currentsupplied to the exit end of said section, decoding means not of anotherclass, means governed by. said decoding means for selectivelycontrolling said wayside signal, coding means effective to code currentsupplied to the section by said trackway current supplying means at onerate or another 1 of said given class or said other class, and means forselecting the class of'coding effected by said coding means, said meansbeing controlled by current having characteristics distinctivelydifferent from the characteristics of current sup,-

plied by said trackway current supplying means and" said distinctivelycharacterized current being. transmitted from a source at said one endof the section to the other wholly overa track HERBERT A. WALLACE

